This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.
Reviewed by Asher Syed for Readers' Favorite
In Mootsie and the Invasion of the Robot Vacuum by Barbara Eckholdt Johnstone, Mootsie is a hidden creature that lives beneath Riley’s bed, formed from the small remnants that gather in a room that no one cleans. Riley answers every order to tidy the space by pushing the mess under the mattress, which feeds Mootsie and lets her drift through the dim space below the bed frame. Life changes when Bertha, the housekeeper, enters while Riley is at school and releases a robot vacuum that begins roaming the floor and beneath the bed. The machine returns again and again, forcing Mootsie to slip through narrow hiding places as the sound draws closer. With the room no longer safe, Mootsie faces a decision about remaining in Riley’s bedroom while searching for another child’s room where clutter continues to gather.
There is not a parent or a childminder in the world who will not know a Riley, stuffing everything in the line of sight under the bed when instructed to clean their room, and this makes Barbara Eckholdt Johnstone's Mootsie and the Invasion of the Robot Vacuum so relatable. When we started reading this, my youngest kind of looked over with a side eye and a muffled laugh, and it was pretty clear we were in for a treat. Johnstone's writing style uses energetic exclamations and playful-sounding words that echo how children talk during games. Estella Hickman's illustrations are just wonderful, filling each spread with lively pencil and watercolor figures that breathe life and personality into the dust and furniture. These are done in the classic children's illustration style, depicting Mootsie’s round face and bright bow. Overall, this is a fun story for families to read together.
